Gascoigne goal voted the best at Wembley

Paul Gascoigne has been voted the scorer of the greatest goal at Wembley, according to a poll of fans conducted by the England team sponsors, the Nationwide Building Society.

Paul Gascoigne has been voted the scorer of the greatest goal at Wembley, according to a poll of fans conducted by the England team sponsors, the Nationwide Building Society.

Gascoigne won nearly 29 per cent of support from fans asked to vote for the best goal seen in the 77-year history of the stadium for his stunning effort against Scotland during Euro 96. The stadium hosts its last match before being rebuilt with the World Cup qualifier against Germany on Saturday.

Just for good measure the Everton midfielder also claimed fifth place in the poll across the United Kingdom for his goal for Tottenham against Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final triumph at Wembley.

Argentina's Ricky Villa transferred his Latin flair to England in helping Tottenham to win the FA Cup three years later. His solo effort inspired his side to a 3-2 replay success over Manchester City - and second place in the Nationwide poll with more than 23 per cent of the votes.

Geoff Hurst is the only man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, in the 1966 defeat of Germany. His final goal in that 4-2 triumph prompted the famous phrase of the BBC's Kenneth Wolstenholme - "the crowd are on the pitch, they think it's all over, it is now" - and put him in third place with 23 per cent of the vote.

A Nationwide spokesman, Peter Gandolfi, said: "The response has been staggering and illustrates the level of passion football supporters have for Wembley Stadium and the memories it holds."

HOW THEY VOTED

1 Paul Gascoigne England (v Scotland, Euro 96) 28.8 per cent 2 Ricky Villa Tottenham (second goal v Man City, 1981 FA Cup final) 23.6 3 Geoff Hurst England (third goal v West Germany, 1996 World Cup final) 23.0 4 Bobby Charlton England (v Mexico, 1966 World Cup) 5.9 5 Paul Gascoigne Tottenham (v Arsenal, 1991 FA Cup semi-final) 4.8 * Percentages relate to fans' poll conducted by Nationwide Building Society.